For those who don't know already, weight training is and should be an important component of any workout plan. Regardless of whether your goal is to add muscle or lose weight, resistance training plays a pivotal role in both. Despite the importance of resistance and weight training, most people waste a great deal of time in the gym doing exercises that rarely result in sought after results.
Our bodies are designed to function as a single coordinated unit, and not the sum of individual parts. When we weight train, if we focus on small lifts like bicep curls or oblique exercises, we not only deviate from this basic principle, but we also add time to our training sessions, thereby decreasing the intensity of our workouts. And intensity is and should be the guiding principle of fitness training. In order to force the body to grow, it needs to be pushed past previous levels of energy exertion, judged by weight lifted in a certain unit of time.
If I can lift more weight in 10 minutes than I did two weeks ago with identical form and using the same exercises, then there is no other conclusion to draw than that I'm stronger than I was two weeks ago. If I am stronger, I've generated new muscle mass, and am therefore bigger as well. My lean muscle mass is greater anyway. So if we're focused on intensity and in keeping with our body's natural physiology, we need lifts that will provide intensity and compound movements which draw on many muscles to accomplish a certain lift.
These 5 major lifts simulate the body's primary movements, to push, to pull, to squat, to lift, and to lift the arms over the head. A pushing movement, best served by the bench press, pushup, or dip, works the chest, shoulders, and triceps. The pulling movement, best served by the pullup or row works the muscles of the back, the lats, and the biceps. And the shoulder or military press, which takes a barbell or dumbbell and pushes the weight from the shoulders or upper chest straight up over head, works the shoulders. These are the strongest and most intense upper body lifts, and need to be the cornerstone of your weight training programs, regardless of whether you're a man, woman, beginner, or advanced trainee.
From here we move on to one of the hardest and most important lifts, the squat. This can be done with bodyweight or by adding weight via a barbell to the shoulders. From a standing position squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor, and then return to a standing position. This works every major muscle group in the legs, and working these muscles causes the release of hormones that cause growth throughout the body, and not just in the legs. So if you want big arms, lift your legs.
The last lift is called the dead lift. It's the simple act of picking something up off the floor safely and standing up with it. Keeping the lower back straight and bending with the legs, the dead lift works the entire body. It works the major muscles in the legs, the lower, middle, and upper back, and the traps on the side of the neck. It is one of the most intense lifts out there, and should hold a place in your strength training routines. But if you include this lift, seek advice for proper form, as it can be dangerous if you don't perform the lift properly.
Notice here I haven't included any exercises for the arms or the abs. These muscle groups are important, but working them individually wastes gym time and lowers the overall intensity of our workouts. Forcing the nervous system to do the above lifts in an intense circuit format or keeping a watch on rest times will result in all around body growth, including biceps, triceps, and abdominal development. And if you want those six pack abs to show, don't up the crunches, watch your calorie intake and exercise your full body.
Author Resource:-
Tom Fazio is an American personal trainer and martial arts instructor living in Shanghai.
He helps clients construct flat abs workout plans and select the best exercise mats and gym bags.
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